From the archive: This story covers events from July and August 2026. FAN is adding past cases to its public record; the latest available update is under “Where it stands now.”
Provo, Utah — Utah revoked the license of Provo Canyon School’s original Provo campus on July 17, 2026, after state licensors issued 15 citations in five months, including for what the state called “cruel and unnecessary” pain-compliance techniques and discipline meant to “frighten or humiliate” teens. Eleven days earlier, the state had revoked the license of the school’s Springville campus.
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Both campuses were owned by Universal Health Services, which has owned Provo Canyon School since 2000. The school closed for good on Aug. 16, 2026, according to a letter on its website.
What the state found
The Utah Department of Health and Human Services’ revocation letter for the Provo campus listed 15 noncompliance citations issued between March and July 2026, according to KSL. The Salt Lake Tribune and KSL reported that the letter said the school:
- failed to protect children from harm and keep youth free from abuse and mistreatment;
- used pain-compliance techniques and discipline intended to frighten or humiliate;
- deprived clients of water, rest and toileting, including letting teens in its “stabilization unit” use the restroom or get water only at the top of the hour;
- retaliated against clients who reported rights violations;
- let staff who had not passed background checks have access to children or their records, and kept incident reports that left out critical details.
State inspection records from June described video of staff using prolonged, unnecessary physical restraints on a child, according to the Tribune. Several clients and a staff member told inspectors that staff “intentionally humiliate clients,” including making youth bark like dogs on their hands and knees for snacks. In a separate incident, a 13-year-old boy was seriously injured in a fight, and regulators said staff did not call 911 or seek immediate medical care.
The Springville campus
The state revoked the Springville campus license on July 6, 2026, citing the provider’s “failure to provide applicable health and safety services for clients,” Axios reported. The state had sanctioned the center in May for delaying medical care to a teen patient. The Tribune reported that the Springville investigation followed a Disability Law Center complaint describing violence, self-harm, inadequate medical care and chronic staffing shortages.
The two campuses were licensed for up to 226 young people combined, and each housed about 70 clients in May, according to inspection records cited by the Tribune.
No child should be hurt in a program that is meant to protect them.
Shannon Thoman-Black, director, Utah Division of Licensing and Background Checks
Where the system failed
Provo Canyon School faced abuse allegations for decades before the state acted, the Tribune reported. Paris Hilton, who stayed there as a teenager, has said she was abused at the school and campaigned for its closure. The citations that ended its license were not one-time lapses. They described a pattern of punishment, restraint and humiliation inside a licensed program that families and placing agencies trusted to treat struggling teens.
The company disputed the findings. Staci Bradley, the school’s director of business development, told the Tribune: “We disagree with the state’s decision regarding the license for Provo Canyon School’s Provo Campus.”
Where it stands now
Universal Health Services appealed both revocations, the Salt Lake Tribune reported on July 27, 2026. A health department spokesperson, Katie England, said the appeals did not change the closure deadlines of Aug. 6 for Springville and Aug. 16 for Provo. The school’s website now states that Provo Canyon School “is permanently closed and no longer provides services as of August 16, 2026.” FAN found no public ruling on the appeals as of November 2026.
Residential treatment programs operate behind closed doors, and children placed there often have no one outside to report to. When a state license is the main safeguard, what happened at Provo Canyon shows how long abuse can continue before regulators act. FAN documents these failures in its overview of foster care system problems.
Key facts
- Facility: Provo Canyon School, owned by Universal Health Services since 2000
- Springville campus license revoked July 6, 2026; Provo campus revoked July 17, 2026
- The Provo revocation letter listed 15 citations issued March to July 2026
- Findings included pain-compliance techniques, humiliation and denial of water, rest and toileting
- Combined licensed capacity: 226 youth
- The company appealed; the school says it closed Aug. 16, 2026
Sources
- The Salt Lake Tribune — Utah closes Provo Canyon School’s original campus, saying it used abusive discipline, unnecessary restraints and humiliated kids (2026-07-17)
- KSL — State revokes license of Provo Canyon School’s Provo campus amid lawsuit, abuse allegations (2026-07-17)
- Axios Salt Lake City — Utah revokes license for Provo Canyon School (2026-07-07)
- The Salt Lake Tribune — Provo Canyon School appeals Utah’s order to shut down both troubled teen programs (2026-07-27)
- Provo Canyon School — Open Letter to Our Community (2026-08-16)
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